A Long Way To Go
by Tanima8
Summary: After the mission to rescue Eri, Kirishima is filled with doubt. Bakugo appears. Angst fluff. One shot. Kirishima X Bakugo


_I do not own My Hero or any of the Characters. This is my first My Hero piece._

 _Hope you enjoy._

* * *

After the mission to rescue Eri, everything was a whirlwind. The four interns were taken to the hospital, had meetings with their internship offices and had a meeting with Aizawa sensei. All of them were tired and emotionally drained by the time they made it back to the dorms.

Kirishima wasn't surprised to be greeted by their entire class on the front step, but it was a lot of commotion. Midoriya did his best to reassure the class, but they all had a lot on their mind after what happened.

"Kirishima," Ashido's voice cut through his hazy thoughts and Sero screaming in his ear. "Are you okay?" Her big black eyes stared through his soul.

"...I've got a long way to go." There was a half smile on his lips that didn't reach his eyes.

Ashido nodded understandingly and moved to comfort Uraraka and Asui. As she turned, Kirishima caught a glimpse of spiky ash-blond hair in the distance - definitely not a part of the group. Kirishima caught Bakugo's eye for a second before the boy huffed and turned on his heel into the dorm. His heart sank a little. He was hoping to talk to Bakugo. He didn't know what he wanted to say just yet, but there was definitely something.

"I"m going to bed! I don't have all the time in the world like you idiots!"

Bakugo's words seemed to slice right through Kirishima as the former stomped up the stairs to his room.

"I guess they've have their provisional licence training tomorrow, but it's still early…" Jiro voiced all of their thoughts.

* * *

Thankfully, the 4 interns managed to excuse themselves to bed too. Kirishima trudged up the stairs to the fourth floor. Bakugo's room was right next to his. He could go and talk to him right now. It was only 8:30. There was no way he was asleep already.

Kirishima stepped up to the door and raised his hand to knock. He held his breath and wanted to knock. Eventually he lowered his hand, his heart sinking even further than before. He still didn't know what to say. He didn't have the courage. "I've got a long way to go." he whispered to himself as he trudged back to his own room.

Kirishima sat in his bed, in the dark, and stared at the wall. So much had happened over the course of a single day. The moving hallway, Fat Gum saving him, the feeling of utter helplessness that had settled in his heart as that guy easily beat him. He lost so readily, even with his new special move. If Fat Gum hadn't been there….

There was a sudden and aggressive bang on his door. _What the…?_ His brows furrowed in confusion as he got up to open the door. As soon as the handle turned the door exploded inward. An angry Bakugo stood in the doorway and pushed his way into the room.

"I thought you went to bed?" It was an obvious question, but he had learned not to ask Bakugo why he was anywhere he chose to be. Kirishima closed his door and sat on his bed watching Bakugo.

That angry teen paced the room a couple times before stopping in front of Kirishima. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?!" He barked at his friend.

"I wasn't allowed -"

"Do you think I give a shit?!"

Kirishima opened his mouth to counter but closed it again.

"Seriously Kirishima. What the hell were you thinking? We all saw the news and had no idea if you would make it out okay or not. Even a pro hero is in serious condition in the hospital!"

"I'm sorry Bakugo."

"And all the teachers could tell us was that you were doing your internships! Useless bastards. What the hell happened down there? What made you say that you've got a long way to go to Pinky?" Bakugo's words and whole body shook with rage.

Kirishima looked up at his best friend. If he felt bad before, he definitely felt worse now. He couldn't imagine if it had been the other way around. Bakugo was determined to be the #1 Hero but didn't even have his provisional licence. He was being left behind by his friend. Plus he was probably worried about them all. A little. Kirishima was beside himself with worry when Bakugo was taken, this must have been similar.

Kirishima lowered his gaze to the floor. He couldn't look Bakugo in the eye while telling him.

"It's like the teachers said. We were on internships."

Bakugo growled, his expression turned even angrier. Before he could speak Kirishima continued.

"The 4 of our agencies worked together with some others to track down and save this little girl. She was at the centre of -"

"I know the exposition, idiot. It was all over the news." Bakugo barked. "I'm asking what happened to you specifically."

"Okay okay. It's just…" the red haired boy paused for a moment trying to keep his voice from sounding too weak. He was still dealing with too many emotions from the incident. He swallowed and continued. "We were going through this hall, me, Midoriya, Fat Gum and a few others. Some villain was able to control it and it was all mad house-y, wobbling every which way. They tried to separate Aizawa sensei from the group, but Fat - my hero mentor Fat Gum - took the blow for him. And I tired to take the hit for Fat.

Fat and I were alone in a room with these two villains. The one… I went into Unbreakable confident I could take his punch…." Kirishima's mind went back to that feeling of utter helplessness as the pain from that single punch broke though Unbreakable. He took a deep breath and willed himself to continue. His voice strained trying to sound normal despite the lump growing in his throat.

"I couldn't. I couldn't even take that one punch in my ultra hardened form. He broke right through it. I've been hurt before, but that cracked my spirit. Fat had to fight that guy while I lay useless against the wall. He took hundreds of punches that I couldn't even take one of. I was only able to help at the last moment. Taking one hit for Fat that put me out cold.

I thought that I was getting so strong." Kirishima dropped his head into his hands. "I thought even I could be a real hero - like Crimson. I was stupid. I couldn't even save one person." His voice cracked, no longer able to control his feelings. His eyes filled with tears as he thought about all that he could have lost. His family, his dream of being a hero, his friends, Bakugo would have all been gone. "If Fat hadn't been there I would have… I would have.." he couldn't say it out loud.

Suddenly, hands shot below his face and grabbed the front of his shirt, roughly pulling him into a standing position. Bakugo's furious face now only inches from his own.

"You would have?! You would have what?! Died?!" Bakugo shook Kirishima slightly as he screamed. "You're not allowed to die on me, do you hear me?! You can't lose to anyone but me! You and me are going to be pro heros! Together!"

Bakugo was definitely an intimidating guy. To anyone else, his anger and his outburst would have scared them and driven them away. Kirishima knew him better than that though. Just one look into his eyes told him everything. His voice was too high, his breathing too shallow, there was an uncommon glint of fear in his eye. He wasn't angry; he was worried and scared.

"Katsuki…" Kirishima wrapped his arms around his worried friend and held him close. "It's okay Katsuki. I'm still here. I'm alive. You're stuck with me for a long time." Even though it was hard, he tried to put a smile on his face.

Bakugo deflated in Kirishima's embrace. His grip loosened on the shirt and his head sank onto Kirishima's shoulder. His weight leaned against Kirishima's solid body.

Kirishima felt the strong muscles in his friends body relax as the anger ebbed away. His own feelings of worry and anxiety felt less pressing as he held Bakugo, feeling his breath slow down and become deeper. They stayed like that for a while. Kirishima couldn't have guessed how long. Everything that he had wanted to convey to Bakugo, all of his pain and self doubt, that he hadn't known how to say was expressed without words.

"Eijiro, don't do that to me again, okay?" Bakugo eventually broke the silence, his voice soft now. "I can't lose you."

"I know. I'm sorry. I thought I was ready but…" Kirishima's voice was soft but too deep, still raw with emotion. His head sank and a tear rolled down his cheek.

Bakugo stood straight and grabbed both sides of Kirishima's face. "Look at me, Eijiro. You are still one of the toughest motherfuckers I know. You may have been hurt by that villain, but you survived. You got up when you lost hope. That's what a true hero is, there is nothing stupid about that. You may have even saved Fat's life at the end. Don't sell yourself short."

A small but real smile settled on Kirishima's lips as he gazed into Bakugo's eyes.

"I'll train hard to become a hero people can depend on."

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I will definitely be writing more for My Hero._

 _I welcome any feedback you'd like to leave. ^.^_

~ _Tanima_


End file.
